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Biamping 101

Oh, the pain of being a "newby". I hear arguments for biamping and biwiring, but I question how benieficial - and how safe - the methods are over just buying higher-quality equipment.

I own a Hafler DH-500 amp, and will probably acquire another one in a few days unless someone here gives me a great reason not to - and am considering biamping a used set of PSB Stratus Goldi's or Thiel 2.3's.

I've read some postings about using external crossovers to biamp; are there recommendations on a specific crossover to use?

Also, how do I get the signal from the receiver/preamp to two different amps for the mains? I guess an overview of how the wiring should go would be quite helpful.

Thanks for entertaining and educating the newby.

HC
aggielaw
macrojack
1,303 posts
 
Buy the best integrated amp you can afford and a good pair of speaker cables keeping the length as short as convenience and aesthetics will allow. Then sell off the rest of your gear. The speakers you are considering are both very worthy of better amplification than you can get from the Hafler no matter how many of them you apply.
Plinius is a good place to look for ample power and quality sonics at a modest price.
There's a lot to be said for simplicity.
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Clueless as usual provides many clues. Link is excellent, but of course only applies to horizontal bi-amping. Vertical bi-amping does not require an external crossover AND reduces crosstalk. However, Macro gives good advice. Bi-amping is probably something you should consider down the road. If you go with the Thiels, you might want to seriously consider upgrading electronics, as they can be ruthlessly revealing. Another good choice for an integrated at a lower pricepoint than Plinius would be AudioRefinement Complete (lower price badge from Yba). I've got one that puts out a very robust 50 wpc and it is very nice sounding and pretty smooth, which would work well with the Thiels.
aggielaw OP
267 posts
 
Thanks for the great advice, all. I'm looking at upgrading electronics before getting the Thiels now. I've read elsewhere here that for the same money, one might be better off with a McCormack amp (looking at DNA .5 I think it is) along with a preamp rather than an integrated at the 1k-$1500 price range. However, I've read less than good things about McCormack's passive pre's, and I get the impression I'm paying for an expensive volume knob with a passive pre. What do you guys think? McCormack separates or a Plinius (looking at 8100, 8150, or 8150i).

Also...it seems universally accepted that Thiels want alot of power. How can they be amply run with 50-100wpc amps?

Thanks again for helping me along!
HC
iseekheils
131 posts
 
I am just starting to get my bi-amped system together. I will be using a Behringer DCX 2496 active digital crossover, which goes between your pre-amp, or source, and the power amps. You can also use it to tri-amp, or to connect a subwoofer, bypassing all of the internal crossovers in the speakers and the one in the receiver or pre-pro. The Behringer is fully balanced, so you might think about getting amps etc, that are balanced as well. Check the archives, you'll find more info there. Sonny
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